(NOTE: Because this is a repaint, this is not a full-blown review. This mainly covers any changes made to the mold and the color scheme, and merely compares it to the original Movie voyager Ratchet toy. For a review on the mold itself, read the review of the original Movie voyager Ratchet toy here.)
It was pretty inevitable--
the "old" Ratchet toy has now been re-released with his new color scheme
in Dark of the Moon. The yellowish-green is now a significantly lighter
color than that of the original, which I'm not fond of (though it does
look a bit ligher-shaded and better on this version than most other Ratchet
toys with this scheme), and most of the black parts (the wheels and grills)
remain black on this version. However, most of the other color changes
tend to be positive, in my opinion. The addition of a significant amount
of white really helps add a bit more color to his modes, particularly in
vehicle form (though it doesn't contrast that well with the light yellowish
green). The plastic white is a notably more pearlescent shade than the
painted white, though, but this only is really an issue on the front section.
He also has large "E4" yellowish orange decals on the sides of his vehicle
mode, and they look nice against Ratchet's other colors; however, on the
flip side, the paint on them wasn't laid on thickly enough, as you can
see the white paint behind said decals. (The typical "Search and Rescue"
decals are present on this version's doors, as well.) His transparent plastic
has been turned into a dark blue, which actually works surprisingly well,
particularly in vehicle mode where it contrasts exceptionally well against
the green and white-- plus, you can't see any robot extras (however minor)
inside the windows on this version! Many of the "connector" pieces that
form a minor secondary color in robot mode are an exceptionally dull green-tinted
black-- personally I think just a plain black would've looked better here,
but it still doesn't look bad by any means. The only paint apps on this
toy that aren't screen-accurate are the Cyberglyph tampos on parts of the
vehicle mode, which are put there to fit Ratchet in with the whole unnamed-on-the-package
"Cyberglyph" subline that nearly all of Target's DotM exclusives fall into.
They sort of ruin the disguise aspect of the vehicle mode, but DO look
cool regardless.
No mold changes have
been made to this version of Ratchet-- though the mold is starting to show
its age, given how many times it's been used now. The joints and pegs are
a bit looser on this version than previous ones, but they're not SO loose
that they outright ruin the toy.
"Cyberglyph" Ratchet
is the obvious choice for someone who wants Ratchet in his DotM color scheme,
but also wants a larger mold than the relatively small new-mold
deluxe version. The Cyberglyphs themselves might hamper the disguise
a bit, but I myself find them a neat little addition. Mildly recommended.
Review by Beastbot